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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cold — an illness
  3. march — the month
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. squash — the sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. race — humankind
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. foot — a measure
  15. cold — not warm
  16. march — music
  17. deal — to handle
  18. squash — to crush
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. date — the fruit
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. fall — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com